10/11: Author Lois Lowry talks 'Son,' 'The Giver,' in Mesa

by Randy Cordova - Oct. 9, 2012 01:20 PMThe Republic | azcentral.com

Author Lois Lowry has been writing books for young-adult readers since "A Summer to Die" appeared in 1977. Her long career means that she now has at least two generations of readers who have grown up with her books.

Lois Lowry

When: 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 11.

Where: Dobson High School Auditorium, 1501 W. Guadalupe Road, Mesa.

Admission: Ticket for two seats free with purchase of "Son" ($17.99) from Changing Hands Bookstore.

Her greatest success has been the science-fiction novel "The Giver," a tale set in a dystopian society. The 1993 book won the Newberry Medal and has inspired three sequels; "Son," the latest, will be the last. Lowry spoke from her home in Massachusetts about her career.

Question: Did you plan for "The Giver" to be the first in a series?

Answer: I thought it would just be a single book. I left the ending ambiguous. (Laughing) Kids don't really like ambiguity. I got so much mail from kids asking about the characters, eventually I went on to write the second and third books, with other books in between.

Q: That makes it sound like you don't outline?

A: I sort of do it by the seat of my pants. I see the characters in my mind and create the setting. It's a very disorganized way to write. I wouldn't recommend it to young people who want to be writers.

Q: So, could we see these characters again?

A: I have gotten e-mails from people who would like me to write a fifth book about two of the characters in this book, but no, no. I'm 75 years old. I have other things I want to do, and I have a limited amount of time left. Plus, the characters in which they are interested are adults by the end of this book. I write the books for young people, so the protagonists are always young people.

Q: When I young, I knew nothing about my favorite authors. But it seems different today with social media.

A: Go back even further to when I was a kid. I didn't pay much attention to who wrote most of the books I read, because most of them were dead. There was no avenue to contact them or read about their personal lives.

Q: And now? It seems you'd get a lot of prying e-mails.

A: Kids have no sense of appropriateness. They can ask me whatever they want. You do develop a sense of intimacy with readers, and they tell you things about themselves. During a school year, I'll get e-mails asking about the books. I'll give them information, but I won't do their homework for them.

Q: Are all your fans young?

A: I get letters from people with no connection to kids. I've gotten letters from prisoners. One letter came from a night watchman on an oil refinery. He wrote that he was bored and somebody left this book on his desk. (Laughing) He concluded: "Man, I'm glad I came to work tonight!"